After the most agonizing and lengthy development cycle in video game history, Duke Nukem Forever released during June of this year. Longer development isn’t always an indicator of quality, however, and its extremely negative reception is proof of that.
Gearbox Co-Founder, Brian Martel, has been disappointed by the poor reception that Duke Nukem Forever has accrued over the past few months, primarily with the way it scored critically. He has placed blame on high expectations for the results, and during an interview with Eurogamer he stated the following:
I think that if we were going to review the reviews fairly, no. A certain amount of gamers today are not used to [Duke Nukem Forever]. It was what it was meant to be, which is a more old-school style game in what is today’s technology.
Okay, so it’s a given that everyone expected more, but doesn’t explain the bugs and unrewarding gameplay. Even if they were aiming for a more classic feel, which quite frankly is just an excuse for it being a game being based on development at the turn of the century, there was plenty of enjoyment to be had from classic games. As stated in our review, Duke Nukem Forever is a game with an array of flaws, none of which come directly from it being a “classic” game.